Heavy Snow, Strong Winds in Southeastern Minnesota

Winds were gusting up to 39 mph in Rochester at 4 p.m. Thursday. The National Weather Service says 7 inches of snow had fallen on Rochester as of noon, while Mantorville had 7.5 inches as of 12:30 p.m.

The National Weather Service is predicting 5 to 10 inches of snow across southeastern Minnesota as a winter storm pushes across the Midwest.

Southbound Interstate 35 was closed from Albert Lea to the Iowa border because of crashes in Iowa.

Roy Savage of Missoula, Mont., is among truck drivers waiting out the storm at an Albert Lea truck stop. Savage says when the winds are this strong and conditions unsafe, "it's definitely best to pull over and wait it out."

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